Top makeup tips to bring your face to life: PART I

Preparing the canvas
Always start with fresh, clean skin. Apply a moisturizer suitable for your skin type to smooth the skin. Next, apply sunscreen. To save time and money you can look for a moisturizer with an SPF of preferably more than 20, or alternatively buy a foundation with a reasonable SPF.

Perfecting imperfections
For dark circles around your eyes, choose a moisturizing dark-circle correcting concealer. Taking one finger, pat a small amount of concealer below your eyes and softly blend. Now let’s turn our focus to spots. Choose a tinted spot-correcting concealer and pat on spots, blending outward. Dark marks are next. A concealer stick or pen is best. Dot a small amount on each dark mark and blend. Make sure the different concealers are all the same shade, and that the shade matches your skin color, or is just half a shade lighter than your skin color.

Foundation application
There are various ways of applying foundation. There is the foundation brush, sponge or the good old faithful fingers. Test each method and determine which is best for you: check for streaks – you want a smooth finish. It is important that the shade of foundation is an exact match to your skin color. There are a few key rules: never ever apply too much foundation; always blend, especially along your jaw line; get the right foundation for your skin type. If you have oily skin, get an oil-free foundation, etc. There is also an alternative to liquid foundation – powder foundation, which is great for a light oil-free finish.